Despite challenges, Zulin Aziz loves being a Suria announcer

Actress and comedian Zulin Aziz recalled how she was hospitalised after starting her stint as a morning show announcer on Suria last year.

“It’s not Suria’s fault! But really on my part, I still find it difficult to manage my time wisely. When my friends asked me to hang out at 10pm, I said yes when I should have been in bed at that time because work starts at 5am,” she said during an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

As a result of this, she had to seek treatment for exhaustion due to lack of sleep and rest.

Zulin, 28, joined Halim Othman and Fizi Ali for the Ceria Pagi (weekdays, 6am-10pm) segment on the Suria radio channel in June 2016. Zulin first made her foray into showbiz as a contestant on reality talent show Pilih Kasih back in 2009. She also hosted the entertainment show Melodi and acted in movies like the comedy Rembat.

Another challenge Zulin faces at work is hearing complaints from listeners about how she’s not the girl they know from her YouTube videos. Zulin is known for releasing funny online videos of herself lip-synching to popular songs and nailing celebrity impressions.

“Due to the videos of celebrity parody and other funny stuff I do on YouTube, most people are under the impression that I am actually funny all the time, which is not the case. So, for the radio show, I’ve gotten comments like, ‘Zulin, you’re not funny’.”

She quickly learned that comedy has its time and place.

“One has to be flexible; there are times when you have to be serious. Then, there are situations that allow us to be funny. The trend on morning shows now is geared towards comedy. But we try to offer something different,” she explained.

She is also thankful she can turn to co-host Halim to teach her a thing or two about how to conduct a morning radio show. Still, she hopes her co-hosts can help her figure out an identity crisis: “Do they want me to be a comedian or an announcer? That’s one thing we’ve yet to establish for sure.”

Despite the challenges she faces, Zulin loves the opportunity of representing the female voice as most Bahasa Malaysia morning shows are dominated by male personalities.

“When it comes to certain male versus female topics, I can challenge Halim or Fizi’s opinions. I love that,” she said.

Apart from hosting the morning show, Zulin also makes comedy videos for Suria called #ParodiZulin. So far, she has released videos of her doing impersonations of celebrities and touching on everyday life situations, like what happens when a woman is upset.

“I have done videos like that and posted them on Instagram (prior to my hosting stint). Those videos got me noticed initially, so I thought why not produce the same content for Suria?”

Zulin is also focused on promoting her debut single Terbiar. Released last month, the music video for the single has garnered over 200,000 views on YouTube.

She will also start filming a TV drama in July. It’s no wonder Zulin has no time for romantic relationships.

“I don’t want to focus on love at the moment. Right now, it’s just work for me. I think I’m more likely to end up in hospital because I’m too busy working. So, I really don’t have time to think about love and marriage.”